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Family Stories

Everybody loves a family story, and today’s Bible reading contains one of the most well-known stories in all of Scripture—the Parable of the Lost Son.

Author Henri Nouwen, in his book The Return Of The Prodigal Son, suggests that all Christians, at some point in their walk of faith, are represented by each of the three main characters. At times we are the wayward child in need of repentance and forgiveness. At other times we are the big brother who wants to hold on to resentment and withhold forgiveness. But as we mature, we become like the father, whose highest desire is to have all his children reconciled. Nouwen ends the book with these words: “As I look at my own aging hands, I know that they have been given to me to stretch out to all who suffer, to rest upon the shoulders of all who come, and to offer the blessing that emerges from the immensity of God’s love.”

What role are you playing in your family story? Do you need the courage to repent and seek forgiveness? Or do you need the compassion to extend forgiveness?

God has given His children the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18-19). Now would be a good time to start. —Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, grant me the courage to confess my faults to those
I’ve offended, and the grace to accept the confessions of
those who have offended me. May I become a minister of
reconciliation to bless my family on Your behalf. Amen.

A right attitude with your family begins with a right attitude toward God.